Teaching - Dr. Megan R. Underhill--Sociologist

 Teaching Philosophy 

In all my courses, I adopt an anti-racist pedagogy, ensuring that the course content: 
        1.   Engages with issues of power and inequality--         2.   Centers the voices and experiences of historically marginalized groups--        3.   Stresses the importance of resistance and activism as a vehicle for social change.  
As a teacher, one of my primary objectives is to denaturalize the status quo, encouraging students to question and challenge taken-for-granted truths that hide pernicious systems of social stratification. I am keenly aware of the importance of a multivocal classroom experience where students from all backgrounds learn about and from people whose voices and academic contributions have been (historically) silenced and overlooked.  
Because most of my courses focus on social inequality, my pedagogical emphasis on resistance and anti-racism is significant. I want students to leave my classes understanding that change is possible. To achieve this goal, I include historical and contemporary examples of resistance and encourage students to identify local models so we can begin the critical work of dreaming a better world into existence. 

Courses Taught

Sociology of RaceSOCIOLOGY 321

This course investigates what race and racism are, how conceptions of both have changed over time and how resources and opportunities are unequally distributed along racial lines.

The Individual and Contemporary SocietyHUMANITIES 414

This course critically assesses power dynamics in the western world post-WWII. Readings privilege the perspectives of subaltern scholars–i.e. those who occupy a subordinate status as a result of their sustained social, political and economic exclusion from contemporary western society.

Social and Cultural InquiryANTHROPOLOGY/SOCIOLOGY 220

Both anthropology and sociology offer theories and research findings that help systematically describe and explain social interaction, inequality, power and more. In this course, we examine the works of a number of theorists whose scholarship is foundational to the development of anthropological and sociological thought.

Class, Power, InequalitySOCIOLOGY 374

This course examines research and theory in the area of class inequality. Over the course of the semester, we explore theories of social class, learn about how and why class inequality has increased over time and examine how these changes affect social mobility.